


Life Doesn't Discriminate (It Takes and It Takes and It Takes)

by violentgril



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Adoption, All Alex wants to do is make Aaron's life better, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Charles Lee was supposed to be like Snape but came out more like Filch, Child Abuse, Families of Choice, Foster Care, Gen, He's my fav and this is my excuse to whump him like crazy, I'm sorry I made Thomas Jefferson so mean, Just let him do it Aaron shhh, King George is an abusive foster parent, Lots of friendly hugs and crying on shoulders though, More Aaron Burr Whump 2k16, No romantic relationships in this one, Oh yeah there's also lots of bad language, Playing fast and loose with historical figures, Poor Aaron Burr, epic misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-20
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-07-16 04:38:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 19,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7252402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violentgril/pseuds/violentgril
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aaron Burr has been in the foster care system since he was 2 years old. Separated from his sister and passed around from foster home to foster home, nothing in his life makes him happy. He's spent the last two years at Yorktown High, and life there sucks just as much as it did everywhere else - he's friendless, he's lonely, and he just got placed in a horrible new home. And then a new kid transfers in, the newly-adopted son of Principal Washington: one Alexander Hamilton.</p>
<p>Everything's about to turn around for Aaron, he just doesn't know it yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Life Doesn't Discriminate (It Takes and It Takes and It Takes)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, welcome to my first Hamilton fic! I mostly wrote this because i love Aaron Burr and i wanted to make him suffer and then take care of him. My favorite thing is taking care of characters who I love. That said, I know nothing about the foster care system, so any inaccuracies are mine and I apologize. 
> 
> IMPORTANT WARNING: In this story, Aaron is abused by a foster parent. It is a short scene, but I'll put *** before and after if you don't want to read that. However, it is discussed on multiple occasions afterward, so if that's an issue for you, this may not be the fic for you. Please use discretion and take care of yourself.
> 
> Also I based their high school off mine, which is in southern California. So if your high school experiences don't line up with this one, that's probably why. Enjoy!

Alexander Hamilton. 

That was the name on everyone’s lips at Yorktown High. He was a new addition to this year’s junior class, jumping in right at the start of the spring semester. He was also a recent adoptee of the school’s principal, Mr. Washington. It was hard to tell which piece of information made him more interesting to the student populace, but popular he was, seemingly from the moment he set foot on the grounds and started a fight with a kid wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the slogan “#Meninist”.

Aaron Burr thought it all a bit much; certainly, he didn’t like Samuel Seabury either, but that was no reason to deck the kid two minutes before the morning bell rang. 

Aaron often found little reason to get worked up over things, and he tended to avoid anyone who did. That just led to trouble, of which Aaron had plenty enough on his own without inviting others to manufacture more. 

Aaron was a junior at Yorktown High as well, but he didn’t much get along with his other classmates. He found most of them to be abrasive in some form or another, with few exceptions. Eliza Schuyler was tolerable, if a bit naïve, although her sister, senior Angelica Schuyler, was downright terrifying. Aaron didn’t know much about their youngest sister, Peggy, as she was only a freshman, but he thought the whole family better off left alone. 

He also didn’t mind John Madison, a quiet, sickly kid who stuck to the much bolder Thomas Jefferson like glue. James and Aaron had been paired up a few times throughout sophomore year on school projects, and Aaron rather liked spending time with the other boy; but for the most part, Thomas’ presence had Aaron steering clear. 

(Sometimes, Aaron wondered if there wasn’t something going on between James and Thomas, something more-than-friendly. But that wasn’t his business, and this school certainly had its fair share of LGBT couples, so it wouldn’t have been too remarkable. Still, who was he to make assumptions? Best to stay out of it). 

It occurred to Aaron that this new kid Hamilton might get along with Thomas. The thought mildly distracted him as he watched the morning fight from a safe distance across the quad. The two boys seemed to be cut from the same obnoxious cloth, and Aaron shuddered to think what might happen if they became friends. Utter chaos, at the very least. Thomas was one of the many kids at Yorktown who actively didn’t like Aaron, although he wasn’t sure why. Something about his quiet demeanor just seemed to piss some people off.

When the warning bell rang, Aaron turned from the fight – which had gained a rather significant crowd, as it now seemed that Alexander was _lecturing_ the bleeding Seabury on feminism and why men’s rights is garbage – and hurriedly made his way to class so as not to be late. He arrived at his first period AP English class to find that the only other person who had bothered to turn up yet was one John Laurens.

He was someone else Aaron actually tolerated, but the feeling didn’t seem to be mutual. Laurens ran with his own group, consisting of one strangely-named Hercules Mulligan, and a French foreign exchange student who lived with the Washington’s who everyone just called Lafayette (Aaron had heard conflicting accounts of the kid’s real name – some said Gilbert, some said Marie, of all things. Aaron didn’t care, because he never had reason to address the kid anyway). Hercules and Lafayette both intimidated Aaron enough to stay away from Laurens, but he couldn’t help but like John anyway. He had a quieter way about him, and a soft smile, although not one that was ever directed at Aaron. It might have been, if things had been different, but, well…

They weren’t. And that was all there was to it, or so Aaron tried to tell himself. 

Aaron silently sat down at his desk in the middle of the room, a seat which afforded him a relatively clear view of the front and also concealed him in the crowd when the rest of the students were present. Today it was only him and Laurens, settled in his typical seat in the back row. 

“Yo, what time is it? Where is everyone?” Laurens said to the room at large, although Aaron was of course the only one there to hear it.

“There’s a fight in the quad, some new kid hit Seabury,” Aaron explained quietly without turning around.

“For real?! Dammit, I always miss the cool shit!” 

And like that, Laurens was out the door, abandoning all his stuff and Aaron. Aaron sighed as the clock ticked closer and closer to when the final bell would ring. He pulled out his homework and faded three-ring binder and settled in to wait, one hand supporting his chin. Waiting on other people, like always. 

This was only Aaron’s second year in this school district, having been in the foster care system since his parents died when he was two and often transferring from foster home to group home to foster home. Luckily, the last two foster homes had been in the same part of town, so he’d managed to stay at the same school for longer than a few months, which was a personal record for him. Despite his lack of friends, Aaron didn’t really mind Yorktown High. It had a good academic reputation, it was relatively clean, and had very little actual gang activity, mostly due to its location, nestled in the surrounding suburbs. Aaron’s current foster family occupied a little house in one of the nearby suburbs, and definitely ranked high on his list of homes he’d lived in. Sure, no one there really cared much about him, but at least they always had money for food and it wasn’t too crowded and he actually had a quiet environment to get his homework done. He didn’t have his own room – he had never in his life had his own room, and the idea of one was utterly fantastical at this point – but none of the other inhabitants bugged him when he got to working on his homework at the dining room table every evening. 

Aaron suspected he was left so well alone because of whatever was written in his file, a thick stack of papers he had glimpsed now and again whenever he transferred homes. He wasn’t a troublemaker, but he did have a hard time connecting with other people, leaving others with the impression that he was aloof and cold. The truth of the matter was that unless you were the cute, lovable, all-around perfect kid, you just weren’t going to get adopted. He knew this; he knew he was destined to keep being passed around until he got out of the system. But it didn’t hurt any less that his older sister hadn’t bothered to keep touch with him after they were separated into different homes almost six years ago, nor did the sharp pangs in his chest lessen whenever he saw other kids get picked up from school in minivans and SUVs by their loving parents. 

His one hope was his schoolwork. He figured if he did well enough, got enough awards and recognitions and graduated with honors, he could get into a good college and apply for legal emancipation. Because Aaron was something of a special case: he had had one kindly, attentive teacher in elementary school, a Ms. Betsy Ross, who saw potential in him like no one else ever had, and she helped him study and apply at the district level to test his IQ. When his results came back in resoundingly positive and alarmingly high, she had convinced the school to skip him not one but two grades higher, from second-going-on-third straight up to fifth. It hadn’t been easy to adjust, but all of a sudden he was no longer bored in class, and he actually felt engaged and interested in the material. He was happier, despite the outcast status and lack of friends. But soon enough he changed foster homes again, entered a new school district, and no one outside of that thick manila file knew that he was two years younger than the rest of his classmates. Maybe his teachers knew; it seemed like something they would be on his school record, but no one had ever said anything about it, and his grades remained high and he kept his head down so they couldn’t complain even if they wanted to. 

So here he was at age 14 and already in his junior year of high school. At this rate he’d graduate when he was 15, for his birthday was in the summer. That meant he’d have to start college as a minor, something he was definitely not looking forward to. He had done research on legal emancipation of minors, and he knew he had a good shot, if he could get the judge to listen. Good grades and a clean record would go a long way. 

Aaron mused over the state of his life and the steps in front of him as he sat in the empty classroom. A few minutes later the final bell rang, and students started entering the classroom in waves. They all chattered excitedly amongst themselves, and from what he could pick up it was all about Alexander Hamilton.

The rest of his day passed slowly, with various rumors now floating around about the new kid and the fight. Aaron snorted to himself when he heard a couple of freshman girls saying that Seabury had been put in the hospital, which he knew was simply not true. He had seen Hamilton throw one punch, and then once he had Seabury’s attention, he resorted to words. And Seabury was too much of a do-gooder to start hitting back, Aaron was sure of it.

He tried his best to put the incident from his mind, but as he walked into fifth period AP US History, he knew it would be impossible to ignore any further. Because sitting there, already surrounded by John Laurens and his crew and a horde of other students, was Alexander Hamilton.

Aaron took a deep breath and walked right by the group and sat at his usual desk, a little off-center and midway back. He would have sat closer to the front, but history always came rather easy to him, and he didn’t particularly like the teacher. Mr. Lee didn’t do much teaching, rather he relied on the textbook and educational videos, and he seemed to always have something negative to say about Aaron, no matter how hard Aaron tried to keep his head down and his opinions to himself. Inwardly he wondered if Lee was somewhat racist, as he never seemed to chastise the kids in the class who were white, like Lee himself. It wasn’t something Aaron could prove, though, so he kept the thought to himself and just did his work as best he could.

Alexander and his new buddies were still loudly joking about something or another when Mr. Lee walked in and slammed his briefcase down on his desk, effectively getting everyone’s attention. Even Hamilton shut up and sat back in his seat, ready to hear what Lee had to say. 

“Good afternoon,” he said, his face stuck in a permanent frown. “Get out your homework and pass it to the front. Then open your books to page 76, and start reading the next chapter. We’ll have a quiz at the end of the period.” 

There was shuffling as the class passed their homework forward and got out copies of the textbook from under their seats. Aaron risked a quick glance behind him and saw Laurens sharing his book with Alexander, who was whispering something that made John smile. Aaron quickly turned away. 

The room quietly read for about ten minutes, with only the sound of small snickers and whispers here and there. Mr. Lee didn’t even bother to look up from his grading. Aaron focused his attention on this chapter, which was about the lead-up to the Revolutionary War. Boring. He had already covered this topic on his own with books from the school library, and found this particular textbook to be rather incomplete in its political and sociological examinations. With a small groan at the poorly written text, Aaron flipped the page rather aggressively and shifted in his seat.

“Do you have a _problem_ , Mr. Burr?” 

Aaron’s head shot up. Mr. Lee was staring at him, a malicious gleam in his eye that spoke of nothing good. 

“No, sir,” Aaron said, shaking his head.

“Do you think yourself above this assignment? Are you too smart to be reading with the rest of your classmates?” Mr. Lee continued in a nasty tone of voice.

Aaron didn’t say anything, but kept his gaze steadily on the book. This was a rare bad day for Mr. Lee, who usually didn’t find anything to criticize until at least thirty minutes into the class. Comments about Aaron’s behavior this early could only mean he was mad about something else, and quite willing to take it out on the first student who slightly annoyed him. 

_Lucky me_ , thought Aaron.

“Nothing to say, hm?” Mr. Lee pressed, aware of his audience in the form of all the students in the room. “Well, if you’re not being _challenged_ enough, perhaps you’re ready to take the quiz now, instead of at the end of the period.”

“No sir,” Aaron said quietly.

“What was that?”

“I said, no sir, I’m not ready to take the quiz,” Aaron said, struggling to keep his voice steady.

“Oh, but you are above this reading, is that it?” Mr. Lee demanded, standing up.

Aaron looked up, alarmed. “That’s not what I said, sir –”

“I know what you said, and what you conveniently didn’t say!” Lee insisted. “I won’t have you undermining my authority. Take the quiz now or go to the principal’s office.” 

Aaron bit his lip. It wasn’t fair, but it was no use protesting at this point. “I-I’ll take the quiz, sir.”

A mean grin spread upon Mr. Lee’s face, and he advanced towards Aaron’s desk, only to be stopped in his tracks by a new voice.

“That’s COMPLETELY unfair!” 

Everyone turned to look. Alexander Hamilton was on his feet, staring furiously at Mr. Lee. John Laurens was looking up at Alexander with complete awe, and his other two friends were barely concealing grins.

“Excuse me?” Mr. Lee said, mouth hanging open. “You can’t speak to me that way! Who are you, anyway? You’re not in my class!”

“I’m Alexander Hamilton,” said Alexander. “I’m new. You can check my class schedule if you like. And you can’t treat Mr. Burr that way!”

Lee was frozen, still gaping at the kid. Aaron was gaping too; no one had ever stood up to Mr. Lee (let alone stood up for _Aaron_ ) before. 

“OUT!” Mr. Lee shouted, pointing wildly at the door. “To the principal’s office! _Now_!”

Alexander grabbed his backpack and shrugged at John before making his way to the door. 

“And you can take Mr. Burr with you, since you seem to be so friendly already!” Mr. Lee shot out after him.

Aaron froze, eyes wide. He had never been sent to the principal’s office before. Would that go on his record? 

The whole class now stared at Aaron, Alexander included. He slowly stood and gathered his things, shakily stuffing his binder into his backpack. He hustled past Mr. Lee over to where Alexander waited near the door and followed the other boy out into the hall.

As soon as the door was safely shut behind them, Alexander let out a laugh.

“God, what an asshole! Is he always like that?” he asked Aaron.

Aaron looked up at Alexander in disbelief. “Yeah. Do you always yell at teachers?”

“When they’re being assholes, yeah.”

Aaron shook his head. “You should probably, you know, not do that. Talk less, and they might like you.”

Alexander snorted. “I don’t care if they like me. I care if they’re fair and actually do their job, which is teaching, not handing out reading assignments for in-class work.”

Aaron didn’t respond, instead followed Alexander in the direction of the principal’s office. It occurred to him to wonder how Alexander already knew the way, it being his first day and all, but the thought quickly slipped from his mind.

“Um, so, thanks, by the way,” Aaron said quietly as they walked. 

Alexander shot him a look. “You’re welcome. Although I’m not sure what for, since I just got us both sent to the principal’s office.”

“Yeah,” Aaron said, looking at his feet. “That’s never happened to me before. But it was cool of you to try to stand up to him, I guess.”

Alexander clapped a hand to Aaron’s shoulder, causing the younger boy to flinch. “We should always stand up to people who are wrong. It’s in the Declaration, you know!”

Aaron raised an eyebrow. “It is, is it?”

“Yes! You ever read it? Or seen _National Treasure_? It’s our duty to take action if we are capable of taking action, and throw off oppressors!” Alexander said excitedly. He continued to babble on about both the line and the movie until they reached the office of Principal Washington.

Aaron raised his hand to knock, but Alexander simply burst through the door.

“Hi, George!” Alexander said, flopping down in one of the two seats in front of the desk. Mr. Washington sat behind it, looking at Alexander with a thoroughly unimpressed expression.

“Hello Alexander,” he said. “What brings you to my office in the middle of fifth period on your first day of school? Especially as we already had a talk about behavior after this morning?”

Alexander waved his hand dismissively. “Mr. Lee is the worst. You should fire him.”

Aaron let out a small laugh, which he stifled quickly, but not quickly enough. Mr. Washington turned to look at him.

“Ah, Mr. Burr. Were you sent here with Alexander?”

“More like because of Alexander,” Aaron mumbled.

“What was that?”

“Sit down, Burr!” Alexander interrupted, grabbing Aaron and tugging him into the other chair. “What’s your first name, by the way? It’s weird just calling you Burr. Unless that’s actually your name, in which case it’s not weird at all and I’m sorry for saying it was.”

“It’s Aaron,” he responded quietly.

“Aaron! That’s great! I’m Alexander, obviously, you can call me Alex if you want, but never call me Hamilton because like I said, I think that’s really weird, although I guess that’s what Laurens and Lafayette prefer, which is cool I guess, I respect everyone’s preferences – ”

“Alexander,” Mr. Washington said sternly, derailing Alexander’s rambling. “Hush. Aaron, what happened in class?”

Aaron opened his mouth to speak, but Alex beat him to it. “Mr. Lee was being horrible to poor Aaron here! Aaron didn’t even do anything! He just was doing the stupid reading like he was supposed to – and who assigns reading for an in-class assignment, anyway – ”

Alexander dropped off in the middle of the sentence as Washington raised a hand.

“I believe I was talking to Aaron, not you,” Washington said patiently, with a look at Alex. Alex didn’t seem put-off in the slightest, merely sat back and looked at Aaron.

“Um, well, it’s like Alex said, sort of,” Aaron started. He didn’t want to sound like he was trying to get Mr. Lee in trouble, but he didn’t know what else to say. “I was just reading, and Mr. Lee doesn’t like me very much anyway, and today he just was mad that I turned the page too hard I guess, and he told me I had to take the quiz early since I was apparently bored, and Alex told him that was unfair. Sir.” 

“Not just because you were bored, he accused you of thinking you were better than everyone else, and his stupid assignment! And you hadn’t said anything, you were so polite to him, calling him sir even though he was being a right – ”

“Alex,” Washington’s tone was warning this time, and Alexander shut right up.

“Sorry, George. I mean, sir.”

Washington sighed. “It’s all right, Alex. Just try not to run off on a tangent here. We’ll talk about your classes and your impressions of them later this evening, all right? For now I’d like to talk to Aaron.”

Alex nodded, miming zipping his lips. Aaron smirked, wondering how long that would actually last.

“Now, Aaron,” Mr. Washington said, turning his attention to the younger boy. “From what I understand you didn’t seem to be doing anything wrong, not trying to cause any trouble, correct?”

“No sir, no trouble,” Aaron said hastily.

“Good. I know you’re a good student, with no previous incidents on your record. I think in this instance we can chalk it up to a bad day for Mr. Lee, and let you both off with a warning about proper classroom behavior,” Washington continued, sparing a stern look at Alex before turning much kinder eyes on Aaron. “Is that all right?”

Aaron nodded, desperate to simply get the whole thing over with.

“And you, Alex? Is that all right?”

Alex sighed dramatically. “I _guess_.” 

Washington nodded. “You both can stay here until the period ends. It should only be a few more minutes. Then you can continue on to your next class. And Alex, you already have one detention from this morning’s incident, _please_ try not to earn yourself another.”

 

That was Aaron’s last interaction with Hamilton for a few days, although Alex was always quick to wave or say hi whenever he and Aaron passed in the halls. Aaron responded in kind, although he never stopped to chat or engage in any further interaction. It was strange enough that someone would acknowledge him at all, let alone seem happy to see him. Alex’s behavior did nothing to influence the others he now constantly hung around with, John Laurens and his group, although Alex could also be seen every now and then in the company of the Schuyler sisters as well.

In general Aaron kept his head down, as per usual, and tried not to incur the wrath of Mr. Lee again. Luckily the rest of the week went by fairly smoothly, and soon it was Friday. He sat through his usual morning classes and then headed to lunch in the cafeteria, where he got his free hot lunch (as a foster kid he was guaranteed one from the school) and sat by himself, as always. 

He had barely started in on his sloppy joe ( _how appetizing_ ) when someone sat down across from him.

“Hey Aaron!” Alex said, smiling widely.

Aaron looked around, but no one else was paying attention. “Um, hi. What’s up?”

Alex shrugged. “Whatcha doin’?”

“Eating lunch,” said Aaron obviously. 

The other boy nodded absentmindedly. “Cool, cool. Well, listen, are you busy tonight?”

“Tonight?” Aaron asked, brow furrowed. He never got asked to do anything after school. Not by anyone, not after he made it clear last year that he wasn’t interested in partying or whatever else it was the rest of his classmates were into.

“Yeah, tonight! John’s have a little party at his house, he told me I could invite whoever I wanted. Nothing major, just some of us hanging out,” he said, still smiling. “So I’m inviting you!”

Aaron stared. “Me?”

“Well, yeah, of course,” Alex said. “We’re friends, right?”

Blinking, Aaron looked down at the puddle that was his pathetic sloppy joe, and back to Alexander’s bright, beaming gaze. 

“Yeah, we’re friends,” Aaron said, unable to hold back the smile that spread across his face. “I want to go. I don’t know if I can, though.”

“Gotta ask the folks?” Alex said wisely.

Aaron shrugged and he looked back at the table. “Foster parents. They don’t usually let me do a lot of stuff.”

Alex’s eyes widened and a knowing look spread across his face. “Hey, that’s cool. I used to live in foster homes too, before George and Martha – Mr. and Mrs. Washington, I mean – adopted me over the summer. I totally understand.”

Aaron’s eyes shot up to meet Alex’s. “You do?”

“Yeah,” Alex said with a grim smile. “I get it. But you should at least ask. If you can’t come it’s fine, we’ll just have to hang out another time. We’ll find something else they’ll let you do.” 

Aaron could hardly believe what he was hearing. No one had ever tried this hard to hang out with him before, not at this school or any other. Usually when people found out he was a foster kid they didn’t know what to say, or worse, made fun of him. People at this school had generally been better, no one outright targeted him at least, but no one was overtly friendly either. He figured that he did so well at keeping his head down that everyone else must think it wasn’t worth it to talk to him. He didn’t mind, not really. He was lonely, of course he was lonely, but he had been lonely for as long as he could remember; loneliness was familiar, and therefore comforting.

But having a friend…Let alone a friend like Alexander, who might actually know what he was going through…

That was a tempting offer.

“Okay,” he said tentatively. “That sounds really great.”

 

The bus ride home was short, and Aaron let himself in with the key his foster parents had given him. Most of his other homes hadn’t allowed him a key, mostly out of distrust, but Aaron had been at this placement for six months and had maintained a clean record, so they gave it to him. He immediately put his things away in his shared bedroom upstairs and then came back down to the kitchen, greeting his foster mother as she prepared dinner.

“Hello, Mrs. Adams,” Aaron said politely, taking his place at the dining room table.

“Good afternoon, Aaron,” Mrs. Adams said, prim and proper as always. Aaron preferred prim and proper foster parents. It was impersonal, and a far sight better than mean and angry, as some of his previous placements had been. 

“May I ask a question?” Aaron inquired, waiting patiently for her to set down what she was working on and turn towards him.

“Of course,” she said courteously. “What is it?”

“We have a new student in our class this semester, a boy who was adopted by Principal Washington,” Aaron began. “Today he invited me to a small get-together with his new friends this evening. I was wondering if I could go? At least for a little while?”

Mrs. Adams looked startled. Probably because Aaron had never asked for such a thing before, let alone made any mention of having friends. 

“Is this get-together at Principal Washington’s house?” she asked. 

“No, it’s at John Laurens’ house,” he said. “I’ve never been there, but they live nearby. Alex gave me the address.”

“Hm,” Mrs. Adams replied. “Are John’s parents Henry and Eleanor Laurens?”

Aaron nodded. “Yes ma’am, that’s them.”

Her face relaxed. “They attend our church. I suppose that’s all right, then. You’ll need to arrange a ride there and back though, John is working late tonight, and I’ve got to take little John to his debate team practice.”

Aaron nodded quickly. Of course they wouldn’t go out of their way to do anything for him, but at least she hadn’t said no.

“Thank you, ma’am!”

“Of course,” Mrs. Adams said, turning back to her cooking. “But I expect you to be back no later than 10pm.”

“Of course, no problem,” Aaron hastily agreed. 

Aaron didn’t have a cell phone, so he grabbed the landline and headed back upstairs. Alex apparently did have a cell phone, given to him by his adopted parents, and he’d given the number to Aaron.

“Yooo, who’s this?” Alex said, picking up on the second ring.

“Uh,” Aaron started, suddenly a little afraid, although he wasn’t sure why. “It’s Aaron.”

“YOOO AARON!!!” Alex shouted delightedly. “Sup! Can you come tonight?”

Aaron smiled, even though Alex couldn’t see it. “Yeah, I got permission. But I have to find a ride and I have to be back by 10.”

“DUDE THAT’S GREAT! No worries at all. I’ll swing by and get you on my way over. I’ll be there at like 6, okay?” Alex said.

“Okay, great,” Aaron said. He was excited, but also nervous. That was uncharacteristic of him, as he generally tried to be in control of all situations at any given time, but he’d never been to something like this before. Also… “Wait, you can drive?!”

Alex laughed. “Yeah, I’m a little old for our year, I’m 17. I got my license a while back and the Washington’s let me drive one of their cars. Don’t worry, I’ve had my license over a year, it’s legal for me to drive you.”

“Oh, yeah, I wasn’t worried,” Aaron lied. Alexander was 17. Alexander had a _car_. Alexander invited him, 14-year-old friendless orphan Aaron Burr, to a party. What even was his life anymore?

 

Aaron was waiting on the doorstep at 6pm that night. He had struggled over what to wear, as he didn’t really have much in terms of a wardrobe, but he settled for his nicest jeans and a button up shirt that wasn’t too old or worn. The Adams’ were all already gone, but he didn’t want Alex to come inside regardless. 

At 6:04, a sleek, silver Audi pulled up into the driveway. Aaron stared; he knew the Washington’s had money, but he had never thought they’d let Alex get away with driving such a nice car. To a stupid high school party, no less!

Alex got out and swept his long hair over his shoulder. Aaron jumped up and rushed over.

“Aaron, buddy, are you ready for this?!” said Alex, grabbing Aaron into a one-armed hug. 

Alex didn’t tower over Aaron, but he was certainly taller than the younger boy, and the enthusiastic hug knocked a bit of the wind out of him.

“Yeah, I think so,” he said with a shrug. “I can’t believe you get to drive such a nice car! They seriously let you take that thing around?”

Alex grinned and spun his keys around his finger. “Yup. Just about anytime I want, too. As long as I’m responsible with it, they don’t care at all.”

“Wow,” said Aaron, looking at the car in awe. 

“Come on, get in,” Alex said, and soon they were off, with Aaron admiring the leather interior as well. 

“So, uh, who all’s gonna be there?” asked Aaron as Alex fiddled with the radio.

“Oh, you know, the usual,” he said as he landed on one of those we-play-everything stations. 

“I’ve never been to one of these things,” Aaron said plaintively. “Who’s included in the usual?”

“John, Lafayette, Hercules, the Schuylers,” Alex listed. “Couple of the others from our grade. Jefferson and Madison usually aren’t invited but show up anyway. Dicks.”

Aaron couldn’t help but smile. “Well, thanks for the invite. I…I don’t, you know, drink or anything, I hope that’s not going to be…weird.”

He finished the sentence lamely, hoping he didn’t sound like a complete idiot. He really didn’t want to make a fool of himself tonight, or seem like a stupid kid in front of the rest of them, but at the same time he wasn’t interested in any activity that made him uncomfortable.

“Oh, no worries, there won’t be alcohol or anything crazy like that,” Alex shook his head. “John’s parents are pretty strict about that kind of thing, and George and Martha would _kill_ me and Laf. Everyone will just be eating pizza and talking, maybe playing some games. Hercules is known for breaking out Cards Against Humanity. That sort of thing.”

Aaron nodded. He was relieved to hear that there wouldn’t be any underage drinking, but he still was nervous. 

The Laurens’ house wasn’t far – everyone sort of lived near everyone else out in the suburbs – and their house was about the same size as the Adams’. 

Aaron could see a few other cars parked in the driveway and along the street, but not too many. He supposed there weren’t that many kids in their grade who could drive yet, so they probably carpooled or got dropped off. 

Alex pulled up to the nearest open curb and parked. Both boys jumped out and Alex lead the way up the drive. The lights were all on downstairs, and as they approached Aaron could hear laughter and voices and music. 

He paused at the door and took a deep breath. Alexander seemed to notice, or at least he chose that moment to give Aaron a reassuring smile.

“It’s gonna be fun. Trust me.”

Aaron did. 

Alex pushed the door open (it wasn’t locked) and immediately gave a shout of “HEY YO GUESS WHO’S IN THE HOUSE!”

“WOO!”

“ALEXANDERRRRRRRR!”

“YEEEAHH!” 

Lafayette, Laurens, and Hercules all ran up to Alex, matching his level of enthusiasm. They all headed down the entranceway towards the source of the loud, thumping music, and Alex turned to beckon Aaron to follow.

He did, peering around curiously. They passed a doorway to the kitchen, where pizza and soda was spread across the countertops, and Eliza Schuyler was pouring herself a Coke while chatting with a girl Aaron didn’t know. They continued into the living room, which was wide and open and had a huge bay window facing the backyard, which contained a large pool and patio. 

“Hey everyone, the party has arrived!” Alex let out a whoop to get the attention of the rest of the room. “And I brought a friend – say hi, Aaron!”  
Aaron’s face turned red as everyone looked at him. He gave a small wave, and everyone went back to what they were doing. 

“Sooo, Aaron Burr finally decided to show up to a party, hm?” Laurens said, sidling up to Aaron. “It’s cool, it’s cool. Just never thought I’d see the day.”

Aaron took a step back from John. “Yeah, uh, me neither. Alex can be persuasive, I guess.”

Laurens raised an eyebrow. “That he can. Interesting.”

“Interesting?”

Laurens ignored him. “Enjoy yourself, Aaron. There’s food in the kitchen. Don’t go upstairs, don’t break anything, and steer clear of Angelica if you don’t want to get involved in a political debate.”

“Got it, thanks,” Aaron said lamely. 

Alex was still busy greeting people, so Aaron wandered back over to the kitchen and poured himself a Coke. He tried not to look to out of place. Everyone else seemed relaxed and distracted, so at least no one was staring at him. 

He walked back into the living room. Alex caught his eye and came over, throwing an arm around Aaron’s shoulders.

“Hey, you having fun yet?” said Alex. “Seems like just about everyone is here. Do you know everyone? Need me to introduce you around?”

“I’ve been going to Yorktown for two years, Alex,” reminded Aaron, even though he really didn’t know everyone at the party. Of course Alex, who had only attended for a few months, was already on first name basis with the entire junior class.

Alex grinned. “You got me there! Well, if I lose track of time, just come get me when you need to go, ‘kay? Can’t have you missing curfew.” 

Aaron nodded, and Alex took off again, this time raucously greeting Eliza Schuyler and her friend. 

He mingled for a while longer, pretending to listen in on conversations. Nothing really struck him as that interesting, but he tried to engage. He was heading back from the kitchen with a piece of pizza when he heard the door open.

Curious, because Alex had said everyone was already there, Aaron looked over in time to see Thomas Jefferson and James Madison enter the room. 

There was a pause in conversation all around him. It seemed that everyone was looking to John Laurens to see if he was going to kick them out or not, and John seemed to be contemplating doing so.

“Well well well, what a lovely gathering,” Thomas said with a smirk. “Isn’t it lovely, James?”

James grunted. 

“Of course, it’s better now that I’m here,” Thomas said. He surveyed the room, and his eyes seemed to zero in on Aaron. Immediately he was gliding over to where Aaron stood by the couch. “But I have to wonder, who thought it was a good idea to invite little Burr, here? What, you couldn’t think of anyone else to be the wet blanket, John? What do you have against fun?”

Aaron’s face was hot. “Shut up, Thomas,” he said with more bravery than he felt.

Of course, his voice shook slightly, which probably didn’t help anything.

Thomas laughed mockingly, and James coughed. “Aw, are you excited to be at a big boy party, Burr? Tell me, what convinced you to finally pull that stick out of your ass? Or has it now been rammed up so high that you’ve lost all brain function and thought you could show up here?”

Aaron was about to retort, when he heard the worst possible thing: a laugh.

The culprit was soon found, as John Laurens let out another laugh, and another. Soon the whole room was laughing along with him, and Aaron felt himself go cold with rage and humiliation and anxiety. He dropped his plate of pizza on the couch and shoved past Thomas, making a beeline for the front door. Their laughter rang in his ears, muddling with a high-pitched ringing that blocked out all conscious thought. 

As it was, he didn’t hear Alex call after him, or a guilty-sounding Laurens tell Thomas to fuck off and get out of his house.  
By the time Thomas and James left, it was clear the younger boy was long gone. 

 

Two weeks passed. Alex continuously tried to corner Aaron and talk to him, in the halls, after class, even in the bathroom, but Aaron was very good at slipping away the moment Alex was distracted. This was made quite easy by the fact that Alex was almost always distracted, all the time. Alex just wanted to apologize; Aaron picked up on that, obviously. But it didn’t matter to Aaron whether Alex apologized or not, nothing would change the fact that no one wanted Aaron, not his friends, not his sister, not even his foster family.

It was one week after the disastrous party that Mr. and Mrs. Adams sat Aaron down on the couch one day after school and ever-so-politely explained that they were no longer able to take care of him; their little John was doing very well in his studies in eighth grade and they wanted to transfer him to a better school district and move the entire family, and taking Aaron along just wouldn’t be possible. Aaron understood; he was never supposed to be a permanent part of their family anyway, so why would they take him along? But he still found himself achingly disappointed. He had, perhaps foolishly, hoped that this quiet, peaceful household might be his last home, until he could get emancipated. 

Instead, a few days later, one of the many state social workers showed up and helped Aaron pile his few belongings into an old Honda and Aaron waved a last dismal goodbye to the Adams family. The worker explained, his voice laced with a strained sort of kindness born of having spent too much time with too many children in unfortunate situations, that the new family he was going to stay with lived on the edge of town. Aaron would still be able to continue at Yorktown High – and Aaron let out a sigh of relief at that, for he still didn’t want to talk to Alexander, but he also hadn’t told Alex that he might be leaving, and the thought of never seeing Alex’s stupid grinning face ever again ate away inside him – and that the family had no children of their own but two other foster kids, both in middle school.  
The pass off to the new family was quick, and Aaron was old hand at this by now. Thank the social worker, smile at the new parents, answer any questions they had, listen to any new rules, and obey, obey, obey. He’d done it 18 times before; he could it again. 

The new family, the Kings, consisted of a Mr. George King and his wife, Charlotte. The other two foster kids, both boys, said hi to Aaron and then made themselves scarce, another thing Aaron was quite used to. One might think foster kids would band together, but he always found the exact opposite to be true. 

The new house was smaller than the Adams’, and in a slightly less well-kept neighborhood. But still, there was a large bedroom with bunk beds for the younger boys, a single bed on its own for Aaron, and a couple of beaten up shelves and drawers, which was by no means the smallest space Aaron had ever had to share. He would make do like he always did. 

The first night was quiet. They all ate dinner at the kitchen table together, but barely anyone spoke, least of all Aaron. It was a Thursday night, so Aaron prepared to turn in earlier than usual. Since this house was further away from the school, the bus came earlier than he was used to. 

Friday morning, Aaron woke just before his alarm at the sound of shouts. He sat up in bed and looked over to the bunk beds where the other two boys were still sound asleep. Carefully, he turned his alarm off before it could ring and made his way to the hallway and peeked out. The shouting was coming from the master bedroom down the hall. It seemed that Mr. and Mrs. King were having a disagreement of some sort, and had no qualms about how loud or how early they raised their voices.

Aaron looked back into the boys’ bedroom. This must be a common occurrence if the other two were so easily able to sleep through the racket. 

He had just finished getting dressed and was packing his backpack when the bedroom door banged open.

“Good, you’re up,” Mr. King growled, clearly not over the fight he had just had with his wife. “Wake the other two. The bus’ll be here in 15 minutes and if any of you are late for it, you’re walking.”

Aaron swallowed. He hadn’t immediately gotten a “mean and angry” vibe from the Kings, but first impressions – especially first impressions in front of a social worker – were often misleading. 

He shook the other boys awake (one was named Thom and the other Jay, but Aaron didn’t know who was who). Both got up in a hurry once they heard the shouting that had taken back up down the hall. In fourteen minutes, all three were waiting in front of the long driveway for the bus to pull up.

“They always like that?” Aaron asked, trying to sound casual.

Jay (or Thom) nodded. “Yep. Don’t give ‘em a reason to yell at you.”

Aaron sighed and looked towards the corner of the street where the bus would be coming from. “Yeah. Thanks.”

The rest of the day went by unremarkably, although Aaron was in a worse mood than usual. He dreaded going back to the Kings’ house, where at the very least tension awaited him. Alex seemed to pick up on Aaron’s mood and for once showed restraint. He still waved on his way to first period, which Aaron returned halfheartedly, but didn’t try to engage Aaron in conversation. 

It was during Mr. Lee’s dreaded fifth period that everything changed.  
As it was a Friday, and Mr. Lee hardly ever did any actual teaching on a good day, the students were set to the task of watching an educational video about the Whiskey Rebellion. It may have been an interesting topic, if the narrator wasn’t so extremely monotone and if Aaron hadn’t already learned everything there was to know about the event.

Still conscious of what happened on Alex’s first day of school, Aaron pulled out a pen and paper to take notes with and settled in to watch the film.

And that’s what the ball of paper hit him.

A crumpled up piece of notebook paper hit his shoulder from behind. Aaron glanced at it, confused, but quickly turned back to the video. Then another hit his shoulder, and another. Finally, one hit him square on the head. Frustrated, Aaron turned around.

Alex, John, Lafayette, and Hercules all sat there, staring at him. Aaron felt his face heating up as he turned back around, just for another paper ball to hit him.  
He whipped back around to glare at the group, but they all pointed at Alex, who gestured for Aaron to pick up one of the paper balls and read it. Aaron shook his head resolutely, but Alex’s gesturing turned frantic. 

With a resigned sigh, Aaron leaned down and grabbed the closest paper ball. He unfolded it under his desk with as much stealth as possible, trying to minimize the crinkling and escape Mr. Lee’s notice. Luckily, the awful teacher was staring at his iPhone, and hadn’t noticed. 

Aaron turned his attention to the paper. Written in barely discernible scribbles that could only be Alexander’s handwriting, it read:

_Please let me apologize. Today during lunch, behind the gym? John’s sorry too._

Aaron reread the message, which Alexander must have duplicated on all the crumpled up papers that had been thrown at him. 

He frowned at it for a minute, unsure. On the one hand, the fact that they still wanted to apologize made him feel slightly better. On the other, he was still horribly embarrassed ( _and hurt_ ) and didn’t want to face any of them ever again.

While he was internally debating, another paper ball struck his shoulder. He picked it up and opened it. 

_Please?_

He sighed. _How can I say no to this?_

Turning back around, he met Alexander’s pleading gaze and gave a small nod. Alex broke out in a wide smile.

Aaron turned back to the movie, but his attention span was shot for the rest of the day.

 

When the lunch bell rang after fifth period, Aaron packed up his stuff with reluctance. He was still planning to meet Alex (and maybe Laurens, it wasn’t clear if the other boy was coming too) behind the gym, but suddenly the idea of going filled him with anxiety (and not just because the gym was out-of-bounds during lunch, although that was worrisome too). 

He shook his head and figured he should just get it over with. Let Alex apologize, Aaron could forgive him, and then they could go back to pretending the whole thing never happened.

_And hopefully Alex will still want to talk to me after this is all said and done…_

It took him six minutes to trek all the way out to the gym, which was a separate building from the rest of the school. He crossed over the white lines painted on the asphalt indicating where lunch boundaries ended, and luckily didn’t see any campus supervisors – _narcs, Aaron, that’s what they call them at this school, stop forgetting that_ – patrolling the area. 

He walked around the large, square, concrete structure that was the gym and immediately saw not only Alex but his entire gang waiting for him. The anxiety in Aaron’s stomach immediately skyrocketed, and it took everything in him not to turn around right there.

“Thank god,” Alex said with relief when he saw him. “I was worried you wouldn’t talk to us.”

“Still might not,” Aaron mumbled.

“Thank you for coming, seriously,” Alex continued, not acknowledging his little comment. “I am so, so, so, incredibly sorry. Here, I wrote you a letter about how sorry I am.”

He shoved a packet of papers, neatly stapled, into Aaron’s hands. It had to be at least 25 pages, all handwritten. Aaron’s eyes widened as he flipped through it; Alex’s handwriting got sloppier and harder to read as the pages went on.

“You didn’t have to do…this,” Aaron said, looking back up at Alex.

“I did, I really did,” Alex disagreed. 

“I’m sorry too,” John spoke up. “I didn’t write you a fucking novel though, sorry. What happened was fucked up.”

Aaron was just about to say something back – he wasn’t sure what, maybe a thank you, or something along those lines – when he was interrupted by another voice.

“Oh ho, I knew little Aaron was up to no good!”

Aaron whipped around in time to see Thomas Jefferson saunter over to the group, grinning manically. 

“Ooh, and Alexander Hamilton, and his little gang,” Jefferson crooned. “All five of you, out of bounds. Tsk, tsk.”

“You’re out of bounds too, asshole,” Alex said furiously. “And mind your own damn business!” 

“What do we have here, little Aaron?” Jefferson said in a sickly sweet voice. Before Aaron could stop him, the other boy ripped Alex’s apology letter out of Aaron’s hands.

“Give that back!” Aaron shouted, trying to reach for it. Unfortunately, Jefferson was a few years older and much taller, and held it easily out of his grasp.

“Fuck off, Thomas!” shouted Hercules, the largest of Hamilton’s gang. He started to advance on Thomas, Laurens hot at his heels.

“Ah ah ah,” said Jefferson, holding out a finger to the boys. “I wouldn’t threaten me if I were you.”

“You ain’t seen threatening yet,” growled Hercules.

“Give that back to Aaron, you fucker!” put in Laurens.

“Do not make us make you,” Lafayette said, crossing his arms. 

Alex stepped around Aaron and right up to Jefferson. Their eyes met, tension sparking through the air. Aaron couldn’t tell who hated the other more. 

“Walk away right now, Jefferson,” Alex hissed. “Or you’ll regret it.”

“Oh Alexander, you have no idea,” Jefferson smirked. He broke his gaze with Alex to glance carelessly at Aaron. “This was never about you, little Aaron. But maybe next time you won’t show up where you’re not wanted.”

The blood drained from Aaron’s face, and he felt cold all over. He hated everything about this, and most of all he hated Jefferson.

Alex grabbed Jefferson by the collar, but before he could do anything else, a man’s voice yelled out, “STOP!”

Everyone froze. Mr. Lee had just rounded the corner of the gym and was pounding towards the group, a look of murderous fervor on his face. 

“Mr. Hamilton, take your hands off Mr. Jefferson this instant!” Mr. Lee demanded, coming to a halt right next to Thomas. 

Alex immediately let go of Thomas and backed away, pulling Aaron along with him. The others stood stock still as Thomas smirked and hid the crumpled letter from Alex in his back pocket. 

“Detention!” crowed Mr. Lee gleefully. “All five of you, this Saturday, for bullying another student and for being out of bounds!” 

“What?!”

“That’s so unfair!”

“What the f-”

“I suggest you don’t finish that sentence, Mr. Laurens,” simpered Mr. Lee.

Laurens shut his mouth with a snap.

“Hang on, Jefferson was out of bounds too!” cried Alex.

“Mr. Jefferson warned me that you hooligans were up to no good, and I followed him here,” Mr. Lee spat out. “And do not open your mouth again, Mr. Hamilton, unless you’d like an even worse punishment. A trip to the principal’s office, perhaps…?”

Alexander’s glare was fierce, but even he knew when to quit. 

_May wonders never cease._

“Now, I’ll expect to see all five of you at my classroom for detention tomorrow morning, 8am sharp,” said Mr. Lee with sickening grin. “You’ll be serving your detention with me, and don’t expect it to be short.”

No one dared say anything. Aaron thought he might start hyperventilating any second.

“Now, the bell is about to ring, all of you get to class! I said, NOW!” 

They all scrambled to get away as quickly as possible, Aaron in the lead. He heard Alex call out for him as he ran back to the main building, but he didn’t pause. Soon he was lost in the throng of students all meandering to their sixth period classes, and Aaron didn’t stop til he made it to his own.

***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Aaron was exceptionally quiet that evening. Not a word was spoken around the dinner table, and Mr. King left the TV on to watch while they ate so he wouldn’t have to interact with the rest of the “family”. 

Miserably, Aaron pushed around the soggy peas and mystery meat on his plate. He knew he’d have to tell the Kings about his detention; they didn’t normally pay much attention to his whereabouts, but he couldn’t just disappear for an entire day. Plus, the bus didn’t run on Saturdays, and he didn’t have another way to get to the school. 

In a fit of cowardice, he decided to wait until after dinner; at least then he might not have an audience. Maybe Mr. King would be more kind to him if he was alone.

_Not likely, but it’s a better plan than no plan._

Aaron continued to eat silently until the other boys excused themselves and escaped back to their room. Mrs. King started to clean up and Mr. King grabbed a can of beer from the kitchen (at least his third one that evening) and retreated to his armchair in the living room.

Aaron followed him and, standing at a respectable distance away from the TV, cleared his throat.

“Um,” he started, his voice weak. “M-Mr. King?”

“What?” demanded the man, not looking away from the screen.

“I…I got a detention today. I have to go to school tomorrow morning to serve it.” Aaron said all of this very quickly and then waited with bated breath.

That got Mr. King’s attention, and to Aaron’s horror, the man turned his head, and his expression was pure anger.

“You _what_?” he said slowly.

“I…got a detention,” Aaron said, voice melting into a whisper.

“Did I or did I not make it clear when we took you in that there was to be no trouble in this household?” Mr. King said coldly, his voice lined with rage. 

“You-you did,” Aaron said fearfully. “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again-”

Mr. King stood up abruptly, towering over Aaron. “You must be a goddamned idiot to get a detention at that shitty school of yours. And what the fuck do you expect me to do about it? Are you a goddamned idiot, kid?”

Trembling, Aaron shook his head. “No, sir.”

“No, _sir_ ,” Mr. King mocked. “Then explain to me how you got a fucking detention, on a Saturday no less, if you’re not a goddamned idiot.”

“I-I…” Aaron stuttered, but Mr. King interrupted him.

“Can’t even form a fucking sentence,” he spat out. “What’s the fucking point, then? Why even bother with school, you little idiot?”

Aaron was frozen. He couldn’t speak, and he certainly couldn’t move.

Mr. King swiped a hardcover book from the decorative bookshelf next to his chair – _Oliver Twist_ , thought Aaron insanely, _how appropriate_ – and swung it at Aaron, aiming right for his face.

The book caught Aaron across the left eye. Mr. King almost certainly hadn’t used his full strength, but nevertheless, Aaron’s face immediately exploded in pain.  
Aaron’s hands leapt to his face as the book landed on the hardwood floor with a thunk.

Mr. King laughed harshly. “Did that hurt, little idiot? Get used to it, that’s all that book’ll ever be good for, since you’re clearly too stupid to read it!” 

Aaron bit back a sob; his hands clutched his face and all he could think to do was _get out_.

“Yeah, get the fuck out of here,” Mr. King snarled as Aaron retreated. He sat back down in his chair and turned towards the TV. “Fucking dumbass kids think I give a shit…”

That was the last Aaron heard; he ran blindly down the hallway and straight into the bathroom nearest his shared bedroom. He shut the door and locked it, slid down to the floor and silently cried.

***********************************************************************************************************************************************************************

 

Aaron didn’t know what to do. 

Mr. King told him he had to go to his Saturday detention, but Mr. King had also hit him with a hardcover book, and the left side of his face now looked like he had taken a fall down a staircase and landed face-first. He supposed that’s the story Mr. King would want him to go with should someone ask, but Aaron would just prefer that he didn’t see anyone who would ask.

Which was totally impossible, since Alex and his stupid gang would be serving the same detention.  
_Fuck_. 

He was screwed. That was it, he was just screwed. Either he fulfilled the detention, thereby clearing the incident from his record, and everyone saw what happened to him (and he could just imagine their voices now, poor, stupid, orphan Aaron, can’t even keep his mouth shut long enough at home, someone had to _shut it for him_ ). Or, he ditched the detention, got in even more trouble with the school (and possibly Mr. King, which was a terrifying thought, almost more terrifying than jeopardizing his plans for his future – legal emancipation, good college, law degree, never thinking about his childhood ever again, etc.). 

Ultimately, the decision was made for him when Mr. King threw open his bedroom door and told Aaron to get walking or else he’d miss the detention, and _we don’t want that, do we?_

_No_ , Aaron thought bitterly as he stepped out into the cold. _I guess we don’t_. 

It took him nearly an hour to make the trek all the way to the school. The bus took a quarter of the time, which made the distance feel deceptively short. When Aaron finally arrived, he had only five minutes to get to Mr. Lee’s classroom for the detention to start. 

He hurried, already out of breath and tired from the long walk. His face was throbbing despite the cold in the air. When he finally arrived, with just moments to spare, it was to find that the door was shut and locked, and Mr. Lee was nowhere in sight.

“Well, that’s just…great,” Aaron mumbled, shocked. He’d never served a detention before, let alone a Saturday detention, but he figured that the teacher generally showed up for it. 

“Yo, man, what time is it?” A whining voice drifted from around the corner, and soon John Laurens, Lafayette, Hercules Mulligan, and Alexander came into view.

Aaron quickly turned back to the door so as not to face them. 

“Hey, Aaron!” That was Alex, and the sudden quickening in steps had to be him as well, rushing over to where Aaron stood. “I’m so sorry about this, it’s all my fault.”

“Yeah it is,” Aaron said, still staring at the floor. “Mr. Lee isn’t here. I don’t know why.”

“He’s not here?” Alex asked, exchanging glances with the rest of his crew. 

Lafayette stepped forward and knocked politely on the classroom door, but moments went by and they heard nothing. Alex tried the door, which was still locked, and John peeked through the construction paper that was taped over the small, square window in the door. 

“The lights are definitely off,” he said, looking back at the others. Aaron made the mistake of glancing up at that.

“What is _that_?!” John cried out, grabbing Aaron by the shoulders and forcing him to look up at the rest of the group. 

Aaron tried to hide his face and pull out of John’s grasp, but he was still exhausted and the other boy was stronger.

“Leave it! I’m fine!” Aaron insisted.

“You are not fine! What happened to your face, dude?” John said, not letting go.

“That was not there yesterday!” Hercules added, ducking around John to get a look.

“Did someone hurt you, little Burr?” Lafayette asked, his voice sharp with concern.

Alex pushed the other three away and put a hand gently under Aaron’s chin, nudging him to look up. Stubbornly, Aaron raised his gaze to meet Alex’s. One of the others let out a sharp gasp as they got a good look at the bruises. Aaron could barely stand the _pity-concern-whatever_ in Alexander’s eyes. 

“Just leave it be,” Aaron said quietly, begging.

“You know I can’t,” Alex responded. He sounded apologetic, as though he already knew exactly how Aaron had gotten these bruises. 

Of course he did. Alex knew the foster care system just like Aaron did. He knew that the level of comfort and safety provided by each home was a total crapshoot, and often it wasn’t the child who came out on top.

And Aaron couldn’t handle his empathy for once second longer.

“I said, LEAVE IT!” he shouted, ripping his head out of Alexander’s grasp and retreating to the back wall of the hallway, away from the other boys. 

He had no clear coherent thought other than to _get away_ , but the others were too quick for him. The four surrounded him from all sides, Alexander at the front, approaching him gently and non-threateningly, with his hands relaxed and clearly visible. Hercules and Lafayette blocked his exits on either side, and John stood at Alexander’s shoulder, concern writ upon his features. 

With an unbidden sob, Aaron shut his eyes tight. He felt pain when he did so, and he couldn’t stop the tears that slipped through his eyelids and down his cheeks. He covered his face with his arms and slid down the wall to the ground, mentally begging the others to just go, leave, _leave him alone, just let it be_ – 

“Aaron, shh, Aaron, it’s okay, it’s all right, everything’s going to be okay – ”

_Like hell it is_. 

“Really, it is, it’s going to be okay, just trust me, I’m going to touch you now, okay? I’m just gonna sit down right here and everything’s going to be okay…”

Aaron didn’t pay him any mind. Once the floodgates opened, he just couldn’t stop. His sobs grew harder, and he wrapped his arms around his stomach, crying into his lap. He wanted to stop, he wished he could stop, but it was all just so much, crashing down on him all at once, and he just couldn’t.

He felt Alex’s knee bump his, and he tried to open his eyes just a bit. Alex gestured for the others to sit down too, so they were all on the same level, surrounding Aaron like kindergarteners at show and tell. Aaron cried harder.

“Shh, it’s gonna be okay,” Alex said, finally scooting close enough to wrap his arms around Aaron’s smaller frame. He held Aaron to his chest and let him cry. The others were silent as the tears kept coming. Aaron wished frantically for them to stop falling.

Finally, after long minutes, Aaron found his voice again, although he couldn’t entirely quell the hiccupping sobs. 

“You don’t understand!” He cried, although he made no effort to pull away from Alexander. The other boy’s embrace was unfairly comforting, as very few people ever touched Aaron at all.

“I know it’s hard, I do, I was in the system too,” Alex said soothingly.

“No!” Aaron pulled away, tear-stained face rising to meet Alexander’s. “No! You got adopted, okay? That’s never going to happen to me! No one wants me! My grandfather didn’t want me, my sister didn’t want me, the 18 foster families I’ve been with didn’t want me, no one has ever wanted to be my friend, and you can’t say you understand! You don’t! You have friends and a family and you DON’T GET IT!”

Alexander, for once in the time Aaron had known him, was stunned speechless.

Aaron took large, gulping breaths, which did absolutely nothing to help him calm down. “I know you want to be friends, Alex, and I tried, but I don’t know how and none of you guys – ” he gestured wildly at the other three boys, “ – want me around at all, so just stop! Stop trying!”

“Aaron, that’s not, that’s not true…” Alex started, looking at the others for help.

Aaron let out a bitter laugh, which mangled with a sob. “They hate me too, Alexander! John’s hated me since I turned him down for a party last year, which wasn’t even my fault because my foster parents back then wouldn’t let me go! And I’ve heard you, Hercules, when you make fun of my clothes! I don’t have a choice, I always get whatever’s handed down from the other kids! I don’t even know why you hate me, Lafayette, but I know that you do!”  
Each boy in turn looked horrified as Aaron called them out. Aaron hoped they actually heard the words that he was previously so afraid to voice. But now, now he didn’t care. Nothing could hurt him worse than he was already hurt; they all might as well know the truth.

“See?” Aaron cried, turning back to Alexander. “Your friends hate me too. No one wants me. So stop pretending you do!” 

He didn’t see Alex’s reaction, because he dissolved into a second wave of tears that had him doubled over, sobbing.

His sobs died out after a few minutes and he realized that Alexander was back to holding him. He didn’t remember when that happened, but despite everything he had said to Alexander (and he meant every word of it), he was glad to be held.

As his breathing evened out, he started to reluctantly pull away. Alex held him still, and Aaron didn’t fight. 

“I’m so, so sorry Aaron,” he said softly. “None of us had any idea.”

“You still don’t,” Aaron mumbled, unwilling to move.

There was a pause. 

“You’re right, we don’t. But I think it’s important that you tell us.”

“Why?” Aaron said with a heavy sigh. “So you can all feel bad for the stupid orphan kid? How’s that any better?”

Alex pulled back and gripped Aaron by the shoulders, staring down at him with intense, burning eyes. 

“Don’t you ever, for one second, think that’s all you are,” Alex said quietly. “You are not stupid, and there is so much more to you than the fact that you’re an orphan. And none of us are going to hold that against you, are we?”

The other three chorused in with affirmations of what Alex had said.

“I’m so sorry, Aaron,” John said earnestly, shuffling closer. “I really, really don’t hate you, I promise. I’m sorry that I was so mean to you. I thought you didn’t like me, and I let it get to me, and I was so wrong to say the shit I did. I’m sorry, man.”

Aaron blinked. “You thought I didn’t like you?”

John nodded, glancing at the others. “You just never seemed to want to talk to us, and we thought, I don’t know, that you thought you were better than us? Cuz none of us are the highest class of guy, you know – okay, fine, Lafayette’s family is loaded, but they shipped him off to America to avoid dealing with him – sorry Laf – so you get what I’m trying to say.”

Aaron looked down, slowly parsing through what Laurens had said. Somehow this miscommunication had been blown epically out of proportion. 

“I’m sorry too,” he said, looking back at John. “I didn’t mean to give you that impression. It’s just, when I got here, I figured I wouldn’t be here very long. I’ve just been lucky to get foster homes within the same school district these past few years, usually I’m jumping in and out of schools every few months. It’s never been worth it to try and make friends.”

He glanced up at Alexander. “And before now, no one’s really tried that hard.”

Alex made a small, hurt noise in the back of his throat and tugged Aaron back against his chest. Aaron would never in his life admit to desiring being cuddled by someone else, but he also didn’t want it to stop.

“Not so lucky with the current foster home, though, huh?” Alex’s voice broke through Aaron’s thoughts.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Aaron mumbled. 

Again, Alex pulled back to look at Aaron, but he never let go of him. “Your face, Aaron. Someone hit you, and it didn’t happen at school yesterday. Was it your foster dad?”

Aaron’s lip trembled. He knew he’d be in huge trouble for ratting out Mr. King, and God knew what the consequences would be. 

Alex seemed to read his mind. “He can’t hurt you here, Aaron. And you’re not going back there.”

“You can’t promise that,” Aaron said, his voice breaking. “Yeah, he hit me, with a book because he said if I got a Saturday detention I must be too stupid to read one. And I’ll have to go back this afternoon, and stay there until they take me away again. There’s no stopping it, Alex.”

The other boys looked stricken at his confession, but Alex pressed on anyway.

“Ah, how little you know of me,” he said with a failed attempt at a smile. “I can be persuasive, and I happen to have a few connections. You’re not going back to that home.”

Aaron looked dubious, for he wasn’t sure how Alexander could be so sure of it, but inside all he felt was relief. At least someone was on his side, for once, even if nothing real came of it.

John coughed, and Aaron saw that he looked even more upset than before. “It’s all our fault you’re in detention today and that you got…you got _punished_ for it! I’m so sorry, Aaron!”

“You didn’t know. I didn’t know, it’s a new home, I just got put there last week,” Aaron said, shaking his head. “It’s definitely not my fault that I got a detention, but you can’t have known the other…thing would happen.”

“You just got there last week?” Alexander said, brow furrowed. “How did I not know about this?”

Aaron stared. “Why would you know anything about my home placements?”

“Because, like I said, sources,” Alex reminded, sounding put-out. “I’m sorry, Aaron. Things are going to be different now, don’t worry.”

“I wish, Alex,” Aaron said, eyes dropping back to his lap.

“I _know_ ,” Alex said firmly. “Are you feeling better? We should go, I don’t think Mr. Lee is showing up.”

“What a dick, assigning detention and then ditching out on it himself,” Hercules grumbled. 

Aaron couldn’t help but let out a small, choked laugh. 

“That’s better,” Alex said with a smile. He stood up, pulling Aaron up with him. He and John each wrapped an arm around Aaron’s shoulders, and Lafayette and Hercules flanked them. 

“Yeah, just think about the bright side,” John said. “You’ll be eighteen in a year or two, yeah? Only a bit longer in the system, then you’re free!”

Aaron stifled a snort, which came out more like a sniffle. “I wish. I’m only 14.”

All four of the boys stopped in their tracks.

“You’re WHAT?” John demanded.

“Oh my God,” Lafayette stared.

Alex stepped in front of Aaron. “What do you mean, you’re 14?”

“Just what I said,” Aaron shrugged, wiping an errant tear from his eye with the back of his hand. “I skipped a few grades in elementary school. I turned 14 last summer. I’m trying to get good grades and stay out of trouble so that after high school I can get legally emancipated.”

Hercules wiped a hand across his face and groaned, while John looked furious. Lafayette idly hovered at Aaron’s side, looking fretful. Alex, however, was staring at Aaron with a strange fervor.

“Aaron, do you trust me?” he asked carefully.

“Um, I guess,” said Aaron.

Alex nodded decisively. “Good. Because everything is going to be great in the end, but you’re gonna have to trust me for a little while until then.”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, dad’s in his office. We’re gonna go see him.”

 

Five minutes later, Alex shoved open the door to Principal Washington’s office, dragging Aaron in first with the other boys following. It was a tight squeeze to fit them all in there, but they managed it.

Washington looked up, surprised. “Aren’t you all supposed to be in detention?”

“Mr. Lee didn’t show up, the shithead,” Alex spat out.

Washington looked at him imploringly. “Alex.”

“Sorry, sorry, he’s not a shithead,” Alex said impatiently. “But we’ve got bigger problems.”

He grabbed Aaron and pushed him forward to face Mr. Washington. Aaron did not appreciate the attention, and he looked up at Alex with a pleading expression.

“It’s fine, just trust me,” Alex said. “I promise it’ll be ok.”

“Aaron! Are you all right?” Mr. Washington exclaimed upon seeing Aaron’s face. “What happened?”

“Do you want to tell him, or should I?” Alex asked gently. 

Aaron opened his mouth and found he couldn’t speak. Instead, he shook his head.

“Aaron was sent to a new foster home last week, Dad,” Alex said, meeting Washington’s gaze with a significant look. “His foster father did this to him last night, with full intent to hurt him. He cannot and will not stay there.”

Washington stared at Aaron, shocked. “You’re absolutely right, he won’t. But I get the feeling there’s more to this, judging by your tone, Alexander.”

Alex nodded. “Sit down over here Aaron,” he gestured to the chair closest. Aaron sat, and Alex dragged the other chair right next to Aaron and sat down, grabbing Aaron’s hand and holding it in his own. The other three boys stood right behind the two in a gesture of solidarity.

“Can you tell me everything, Aaron?” Washington asked gently, leaning forward. 

“Everything?” said Aaron nervously.

“Everything you wish to speak about, from the beginning,” Washington amended.

“O-okay,” Aaron stuttered. He wasn’t sure how to start. He looked over at Alex, who nodded and squeezed his hand reassuringly.

“He really means everything. Tell him what you told us, and all the stuff you left out,” Alex said with a half-smile. “Trust me.” 

Aaron nodded. He could do that. He knew he could trust Alexander. 

“Sir,” he said, turning back to Washington. “You may already know I’ve been in the foster care system since I was 2. My parents died in a car crash, and my grandfather refused to take in my older sister and I, because my parents never married and we were born out of wedlock. I guess he was a very religious man. I heard he died of a heart attack a few years ago. Anyway, my sister and I went to foster homes together for a while, and most of them were ok, I guess. A few of them weren’t. I jumped schools a lot. It was at my third elementary school that a really nice teacher, Ms. Ross, took me in for state testing and convinced the school to skip me two grades, so after second I went up to fifth. Which was really great, because school had been really boring before that. I still changed schools a lot, but the curriculum was always similar enough that I didn’t have any problems. Anyway, Sally – my sister, she’s three years older – and I kept switching around for a while, and then when I was 9 we got separated. I tried to keep in touch, but it’s really, really hard in the system, sir, unless you have someone helping you. I finally got in touch with her three years ago, but it was just for her new parents to tell me she was adopted and “adjusting well” and didn’t want to talk to me.”

Aaron paused to take a deep breath and stave off the tears that threatened to fall. He missed his sister, but she apparently didn’t miss him. 

“I just kept going from home to home, and then at the beginning of sophomore year – that was three homes ago, now – I got transferred here. This is the first time I’ve managed to stay in the same school more than a few months. I don’t know how I keep getting placements in the same school district, that’s never happened to me before, but it’s been nice. I’ve never made friends before because I kept moving. I didn’t really make any friends here either, I guess John and I got off on the wrong foot and it just never worked. I thought they all hated me, until Alexander came around this year and kept trying to be friends.”  
He spared a smile for Alex, who returned it, albeit rather morosely. 

“Anyway, I was with the Adams family most of this year, and they were pretty nice. No one yelled, no one threw anything, they just let me be, which was fine. Since I’m 14, and I want to go to college straight after high school, and I know it would be hard to do that while in the foster system, I’m trying to keep my grades up and keep my record clean so that I stand a chance at legal emancipation after I graduate high school. I’m still going to try, but I’m not sure if it’ll work now, with what’s happened with the Kings…”

He trailed off. Washington looked at him, concerned.

“What happened with the Kings, Aaron?”

Aaron swallowed. This was it. 

“They’re the foster parents I got put with last week, sir. There’s two other foster boys there, middle schoolers. Mr. and Mrs. King fight all the time, and they don’t care about us either. And yesterday I came home and told him I had a Saturday detention, and he-he hit me with a book, b-because, I “must be too stupid to read one” if I got a detention, sir,” Aaron paused, ashamed that a few tears had rolled down his face while he talked. He took a deep, steadying breath. “And Mr. Lee didn’t even show up for his detention, so I don’t know what that means, but Mr. Lee hates me and always yells at me for something or another so I know he’s going to make this my fault somehow, and I don’t want to go back to the house, Mr. King made me walk here and it’s so far and I’m so tired, and I don’t know what he’ll do when I get there!” 

Aaron broke off as he felt the panic rise in him. He hadn’t mean to voice all of that, but something about feeling so physically exhausted mixed with being emotionally exhausted had all his defenses down. And he had always liked Mr. Washington, he always seemed like the kind of guy who actually cared, who really wanted to help you…

Aaron could only hope he would actually want to help him, too.

“It’s okay, Aaron, you’re not in any trouble because Mr. Lee didn’t show up,” said Mr. Washington soothingly. “I’ll have words with him, and I think it’s probably best if we switch you out of his class for the remainder of the semester.”

“Yes sir,” Aaron said with relief. 

“You all were right to come to me with this,” Washington continued, looking around at all of them. “Aaron, thank you so much for your bravery. I really appreciate you confiding in me, and in your friends. I know they all just want to help you.”

“It’s true,” Alex said.

“Of course we want to help little Aaron,” Lafayette chimed in.

“And we’re sorry about everything from before,” said Hercules, and John nodded in agreement. 

“Thanks guys,” Aaron said. He meant it, and he trusted them, or at least he was starting to. None of them had made fun of him or said anything horrible since his breakdown, and their apologies felt sincere.

“Now, Aaron, you understand that what Mr. King did was very wrong, and we can’t let you or the other two boys stay there, right?” Washington said.

Aaron nodded. “What’re you going to do, sir?”

“Leave that part to me,” said Washington with a reassuring smile. “As the adult here, it’s my job to take care of the rest of you, and I’m going to do just that. You’re not going back to that house ever again. For now, I’m going to call Martha and have her pick you all up. John, Hercules, you’re both welcome to come over as well, or Martha will drop you off at your homes, it’s up to you.”

“We’re not leaving Aaron,” John said stubbornly, and Hercules nodded in agreement.

Aaron flushed. He felt both embarrassed and happy at their words. He didn’t need them, he was fine ( _Ok I’m not fine, but I will be_ ), but the fact that they wanted to stay was…well, it was amazing.

“That’s fine,” Washington smiled. “I’ll call her now. You can all go hang out at our house, watch movies, whatever you want.”

 

Twenty minutes later, Martha Washington walked into the school’s office, where the five boys were all sitting in chairs in the waiting room, talking amongst themselves. Alex still hadn’t let go of Aaron’s hand, which made Aaron feel self-conscious, but it was so comforting that he let it happen. 

“Hi boys,” Martha said with a bright smile. She was a sunny, warm woman with a cheery disposition. Aaron hadn’t met her before, but Alex had been telling him all about her, and he only had good things to say. 

“Hi mom,” Alex said, standing up. “This is Aaron!”

Martha immediately enveloped Aaron in a hug. “Oh, it’s so nice to meet you! Alex and Gilbert have told us so much about you.”

_So Lafayette’s first name is Gilbert after all_ , thought Aaron. He couldn’t bring himself to hug this woman back, but he was a little disappointed when she let go.

“So,” she began. “I’m going to say hi to George, and then the five of us are going to go to back home, where I’ve got snacks waiting. How does that sound?”

There was a chorus of “Yes please!” and “Thank you!” from all the kids, and Martha beamed. 

She disappeared into Mr. Washington’s office. Alex smiled down at Aaron.

“See,” he said. “Told you she was great!”

Aaron smiled back. Things were starting to sound not completely awful, and he hoped they stayed that way.

The trip to the Washington’s house was quick, and Aaron peered out the window, taking in the view of the grand estate with great interest. He hadn’t known the Washington’s were so _rich_. 

“They come from old money,” Alex whispered in his ear when he saw Aaron staring. “Don’t worry, they’re not jerks about it.”

Aaron nodded. They must have a lot of “old” money if they could afford a place like this, with three stories and rolling, landscaped grounds. 

They all trooped into the house, pausing in the kitchen to grab snacks and sodas in a flurry of movement that had Martha laughing. Aaron barely got to take a look around at the clean, bright décor before Alex was leading him into a huge media room, equipped with the largest TV Aaron had ever seen, a long, plush couch, a couple of bean-bag chairs, and a huge array of Blu-Rays. 

Alex immediately flopped down on the couch and tugged Aaron down next to him. John sat on Aaron’s other side, and Lafayette and Hercules grabbed bean bags. 

“So, what’re we gonna watch first?” Alex asked the room. 

“Disney!” shouted Lafayette.

“Avengers!” said Hercules.

“What’s your favorite movie, Aaron?” John asked.

Aaron bit his lip. He didn’t really have one; he hadn’t watched that many of them, especially not in a movie theater. Entertainment like movies required money. 

“Um,” he said, unsure. “I don’t have one. Alex mentioned a movie once that sounded interesting… _National Treasure_?”

The whole group broke out in grins.

“Oh, you’re gonna love it, it’s one of the best movies ever,” assured Alex as he flicked on the TV and started searching through the movie cabinet. Aaron could see it was alphabetized, and it didn’t take Alex long to find the right one.

The movie was indeed just as exciting as Alex had promised, and it seemed that all the other boys knew it by heart, which made Aaron laugh. Partway through, Martha had come with chips and dip and an ice pack for Aaron’s face, which she had instructed to leave on for twenty minutes, then off for the same time, until the ice pack melted. Aaron was surprised by the care, but took the pack and thanked her. By the end of the movie, Aaron felt more relaxed than he had in a long time, and certainly very distant from the way he felt that morning. 

It was during the second movie – Hercules picked, and they were watching _The Avengers_ , another movie Aaron hadn’t seen – when Aaron felt his eyes drooping. 

Alex eventually seemed to notice Aaron’s struggle to stay awake, and gently placed the ice pack out of the way. It wasn’t long before Aaron was asleep, head on Alex’s shoulder. 

 

 

A few hours later, Aaron awoke, groggy but quite comfortable. He either moved or had been moved while he was asleep, and his head rested on a pillow placed in Alex’s lap and his feet were propped up on John. The TV was now playing _Moulin Rouge_ , which he assumed must have been John’s pick, since Lafayette had earlier voted for Disney.

_Although I guess it could be Alex’s too, since I picked the first movie. Hm, who seems more likely to like singing Ewan McGregor?_

He sat up slowly, wincing slightly when he felt the aching from the bruises on his face, which had been dulled while he slept.

“Hey buddy, how’re you doing?” Alex asked as Hercules paused the movie. 

Aaron yawned. “Fine. How long was I asleep?”

“Couple hours,” John replied casually. “Long enough for us to finish _The Avengers_ , watch _Lilo and Stitch_ , and get halfway through _Moulin Rouge_.”

“Oh, wow,” said Aaron, glancing up at Alex. “Sorry about that.”

“It is so incredibly fine, don’t even worry about it,” Alex grinned. 

Aaron shot him a confused smile. “Whatever you say.”

Just then, the door to the media room opened, revealing both George and Martha. 

“Oh good, you’re up!” Martha said, strolling over to the couch and peering at Aaron’s face. “I have a few questions for you, Aaron. Can we speak in the kitchen?”

Aaron suddenly felt nervous, but Alex gave him a reassuring smile. He followed Martha into the kitchen and sat down on a barstool that she pulled out for him.

“Aaron, I’m sure you’ve had quite enough talking for one day, but I do need to ask you a few things, all right?” she said, her voice soft and sympathetic.

“Yes ma’am,” said Aaron, still trying to quell his nervousness.

“Are you hurt anywhere besides your face?” she asked gently. “Do you have any other physical injuries, not necessarily from the same incident, but just in general?”

Aaron shook his head.

“All right then. Now, try to be honest with me, sweetheart. Does anything at all hurt? Do you have any scrapes? A hangnail? A splinter, even?” She sounded like she was teasing, but Aaron got the idea that she truly wanted to know.

“Um,” he started, mentally cataloging everything he’d been through in the past week or so. “Well, my face is the only thing that really hurts…I’ve got blisters on both my heels from walking to the school for detention, and I got my finger caught in the bedroom door the other day and it still hurts, but I know it’s not broken or anything. My head hurts, but I think it’s just because I haven’t eaten much.”

Martha nodded thoughtfully as he spoke. “Well, we can fix all that up right quick.”

She pulled a first aid kit out from under the sink and set it on the counter. Opening it, she grabbed a box of Band-Aids and Neosporin and told Aaron to put them on his blisters.

“And give your shoes and socks to me, honey, I’ll put them out by the door where the rest of our shoes are kept,” she said kindly.

Aaron did as she said, not daring to ask how long she planned for him to stay. He rather thought that once they were done watching movies he’d have to leave. Maybe not to the Kings’, Mr. Washington had made it clear he wasn’t going back there, but to…somewhere. A new foster home, he supposed.

She examined his finger next, and also declared it to be not-broken, just bruised. She handed him a new, frozen ice pack from the freezer and told him to ice both his finger and face at once, again for twenty minute increments at a time. 

Finally, she pulled out a few different Tupperware containers from the fridge.

“Now, dinner’s not for a few hours yet, but you missed lunch so let’s get you something to eat,” she said. “We’ve got leftover chicken parmesan, mashed  
potatoes, and grilled asparagus. Do you like any of those? If not, I’ll be happy to make you something else.”

“No, it’s fine, all of those sound great,” he said quickly. “Thank you, Mrs. Washington.”

She waved a hand. “Oh please, call me Martha, sweetheart.”

“Yes, Martha,” he said obediently, and blushed under her pleased grin. 

A few minutes later, he was sitting at the table eating reheated chicken and idly chatting with Martha about school when the rest of the boys and George walked in. 

George gestured to them all to take seats around the table while he stood. Luckily, like everything else the Washington’s owned, the table was large and spacious and easily fit all five boys and Martha. 

“In the interest of saving time, since I know you’ll all talk to each other anyway, I thought I’d give you an update on the situation,” he started, glancing seriously at each of the boys. “Aaron, is it okay if I talk about this in front of the others? If you’d rather we discuss this privately, that’s fine.”

Aaron shook his head. At this point, the others had all seen him sobbing, and they hadn’t held it against him. He didn’t have much shame left. 

“Okay,” said George. “Aaron, you may not know this, but Martha and I have been foster parents before. We fostered Alex last summer before adopting him in the fall, and Gilbert has been staying with us for the past three years. Before that, we fostered a few other children on and off, so we are familiar with the process.”

Aaron set his fork down and gazed up at George seriously. He hadn’t known this, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about this conversation – or where it was going – yet.

“I’ve got quite a few connections within the system,” George continued. “My name and family’s reputation does help, as much as I don’t care to use it in most situations. But sometimes I’m very, very grateful for it, because it allows me to help out in ways I otherwise wouldn’t be able to.”

He paused, and then met Aaron’s eyes.

“The reason you’ve been in homes within the same school district these past two years is because I pulled some strings with the department and asked that they leave you in my school,” George said plainly. “I wanted to continue to keep an eye on you. I know you’re a good kid, Aaron, but I’ve seen a lot of good kids get caught up in bad situations and I haven’t been able to do anything. I knew if I kept you close, then if the need ever arose, I’d be in a position to help. Well, when you walked into my office today with Alex, the need arose.”

Aaron’s eyes were wide. “I’ve gotten to stay at Yorktown because of you?”

George nodded solemnly. “I apologize for not speaking with you earlier, Aaron, but I honestly didn’t see a need. You seemed well-adjusted, if a bit subdued and lonely, but you did well in school and were kind to others. I thought you were just a quiet personality, and I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable by forcing you to have regular talks with your principal.”

“Oh,” Aaron said, still stunned by this revelation. “You’re right, I think it would have been…weird.”

A small grin briefly crossed George’s face. “Anyway, back to the point. Martha and I are familiar with the process of dealing with the foster care system, so I followed the steps that I was supposed to, as well as placed a few calls to my connections, and you and the other two boys have officially been moved out of the Kings’ care.”

A chorus of cheers went up among the boys, and Aaron couldn’t hold back a smile. 

George allowed it, and then held up a hand. “On a more serious note, the Kings are undergoing investigation by the police.”

The breath suddenly left Aaron’s chest. “Because of me?”

Martha placed a comforting hand on Aaron’s shoulder. “Because of what they did to you, Aaron. Adults are not allowed to abuse children. And if this happened to you, it could easily have happened to other children they’ve had in their care. It’s very important that they face justice for their actions, and that no other children are hurt by them again.”

Aaron stared down at his plate. The whole situation felt so surreal when she laid it out like that. _Child abuse_ , his mind whispered. _That’s what it was. Abuse. Child abuse. You’ve been abused, like a kid in a book, or on TV. Like the boy in A Child Called It. Or like Harry Potter at the Dursley’s._

Alex, like always, must have understood the general gist of Aaron’s thought process, because Aaron found himself swept up in an awkward side hug by his friend. 

“Nothing about this situation is your fault,” Alex whispered fiercely. “Everything’s going to be okay now.”

And then he let Aaron go. Aaron still felt dazed, but strengthened by his friend’s support.

“Aaron, the police may want to question you,” George said, carefully gauging Aaron’s expression. “I’ll be with you if they do, and I won’t allow it to happen for a few days at the very least. In the meantime, you’re going to be staying here.”

Aaron’s jaw dropped. “Here?! As in, with you guys and Alex and Lafayette?!” 

Martha smiled widely. “Yes, here! Is that ok with you?”

Aaron nodded vigorously. He couldn’t think of anything better! From what he had seen so far, this home would be leagues, eons, lightyears better than any other he had ever stayed in.

“I would like that a lot,” Aaron said, trying not to sound too excited. 

“We’ll have another discussion in a few days’ time about your home placement,” George continued. “If you like it here, you will be welcome to stay for as long as you want.”

Aaron sat up rigidly straight and his eyes went wide. “Are you serious?”

George and Martha exchanged a glance. 

“Of course he is, dear,” Martha said reassuringly. “We’d love to have you.”

“Alex and Gilbert have already told me they’d love to have you stay indefinitely,” George added. “Isn’t that right, boys?”

“Damn right!” Alex crowed, but clapped a hand over his mouth at a look from George. “Sorry. Dang right!”

“Of course we want you to stay,” said Lafayette with much more poise. 

Aaron couldn’t help it. He started crying.

“Oh dear, it’s all right!” Martha said. She rose from her chair and knelt before Aaron’s, gently wiping tears from his face with a tissue from a pack in her pocket.

“Y-you’re all j-just so n-n-nice,” Aaron said through his tears. “N-no one’s wanted m-me to stay b-before.”

“Oh!” Martha exclaimed, and suddenly she was crying too, and holding Aaron close to her chest. 

They both cried without shame, and Aaron wrapped his arms around her waist and openly wept into her shoulder. 

“I’ll get more tissues,” George sighed, although he looked anything but annoyed. Instead, he shared a fond look with Alex and the others, and went off to find a tissue box. 

Aaron cried until he felt completely wrung out. He had run the complete gamut of emotions today, and although he was so happy at the turn of events, and despite his long nap, he felt utterly exhausted. 

“Oh dear, I’m sorry,” Martha said tearfully, pulling back. She patted Aaron on the head and dabbed at her face with a tissue handed to her by George.

“It’s okay,” Aaron mumbled. The other boys had all busied themselves with cleaning up the media room and putting away snacks while Martha and Aaron had their moment. 

“Aaron, I’d still like us to talk about it again in a few days after you’ve experienced living here,” George said. “If you don’t like it here, or want to leave for any reason, that’s perfectly fine and we won’t be mad at you. But for now, can we act as though you’re going to be here long-term?”

Aaron nodded. “Yes, sir. I want to stay. Forever.”

George smiled. “Call me George. Alex and Gilbert have taken to calling us mom and dad, but you’re welcome to do whatever’s comfortable for you.”

“Thanks…George,” said Aaron. He definitely wasn’t comfortable with “dad”, but maybe he’d get there. 

“Boys, would you like to take Aaron upstairs to pick out a bedroom?” said George, turning to look at the others. 

“My own bedroom?!” asked Aaron.

“Of course. We have plenty,” George explained. “Unless you aren’t comfortable sleeping in a room on your own?”

“No, that’s not it, I’ve just never had my own room before,” Aaron said, his voice betraying awe at the opportunity.

“Come on, we’re both on the second floor, you can come pick one out there too!” Alex broke in excitedly, grabbing Aaron by the hand. 

Lafayette had already started up the staircase, with John and Hercules following.

Alex led the younger boy up the wide staircase and onto the second floor, which was decorated just as beautifully as the first. 

“This one is my room,” said Lafayette, pointing at the first door on the left. He opened the door, and Aaron saw a spacious room painted deep purple, with a large queen-size bed and a desk with a rolling chair and even a laptop sitting on his bed. 

“Wow,” Aaron said in shock, looking at the various posters for French movies and polaroids of Lafayette with his American friends. Alex, John, and Hercules featured heavily, as well as George and Martha.

“Come on, mine’s over here!” Alex tugged him back out of the room and down the hall. They skipped one room, which Aaron figured must be empty, and stopped in front of the third door.

Every inch of the door itself was covered in printouts of book pages, poems, and movie quotes. Aaron grinned at it, as it was so very Alexander, and then the door opened.

If he had thought Lafayette’s room was cool, Alexander’s was off the charts. The bed, which was the same size as Lafayette’s, was unmade but covered in various stuffed animals and pillows. The far wall had a window to the backyard of the grounds, and was covered in pictures, both of life in America and of what Aaron assumed must have been Nevis, where he knew Alex had grown up. The desk, also the same as Lafayette’s, held a desktop computer covered in sticky notes, which contained both writings and drawings. And everywhere were notebooks; some lying on the ground, peeking out from under the bed, sitting in stacks under the desk and in front of the closet. Aaron figured that, with Alex’s propensity for writing, he probably went through at least one a week. 

Much like Lafayette’s room, the walls were covered in posters. Aaron spotted one of the cast of the movie _Les Miserables_ , as well as one on which was printed the entirely of the Declaration of Independence. The walls underneath, which were barely visible, were painted a sky blue. 

“This is amazing,” said Aaron in awe. To not only have his own space, but to be able to decorate it and make it his own, was something Aaron had always desired and never experienced. 

“The bedroom in between me and Lafayette’s is free,” said Alex. “There’s two more on the other side of the hall, if you’d rather one of those. The other side of the house has offices and storage, stuff like that.”

“Can I look at the one between yours?” asked Aaron.

Alex grinned and gestured for him to lead the way. Aaron cautiously opened the door to the room in between Alex and Lafayette’s. It was currently painted an eggshell white, with a cream colored carpet and white curtains around the window. The closet stood closed, and across from it was a desk just like in Aaron and Lafayette’s room, except it had an upper section with extra shelving and cabinets. The bed was lined up against the wall to his right, and it was neatly made.

Aaron wandered into the room taking all the details in. It was spacious, with enough floorspace for him to lie down and not touch any furniture or walls. The closet wasn’t huge, but it was certainly bigger than he’d need for his meager wardrobe. The desk was made of oak, and the wood was unscratched and beautiful. 

He ran a hand softly across the bedspread, which happened to be his favorite color: dark, forest green.

He looked back up at Alex, and the other boys who were peering into the room from the hallway.

“I love it,” he said, and then, with hesitation, “Can I really have it?”

“Of course!” said Alex with a shout.

“And you’ll be right in between us, so one of us will always be nearby,” said Lafayette. 

Aaron found he rather liked that idea. 

 

Over the next few days, the bruises on Aaron’s face faded, and he slowly grew more and more comfortable at the Washington’s. He didn’t have anything except the clothes he had been wearing on Saturday and his backpack, which he carefully put away in his brand new room. George said the Kings were still under investigation and he couldn’t retrieve Aaron’s other belongings from their house yet; Aaron didn’t have much anyway, so he didn’t really mind. Alex loaned Aaron some clothes, and Sunday morning Aaron awoke to Lafayette and Alex bounding into his room at 10 am. 

“Aaron! Get up! We’re going SHOPPING!” Alex shouted, whipping the curtains open so that light flooded into the room. 

Aaron buried his head under the covers, but Lafayette grabbed the end of the comforter and whipped it off him. 

“Get up, little Aaron!” he said in a singsong tone. “Maman and Papa gave us lots of money and permission to use the car! Get up!”

Aaron sat up, yawning. It’s not like he really had the choice to go back to sleep, not with those two around.

“What’re we buying?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.

“Oh, _everything_ ,” Lafayette smirked.

“You’re getting a brand new wardrobe. And new school supplies. And stuff to decorate your room. And a toothbrush. And other toiletries. And any snacks you like. And –” Alex broke off. “Well, you get it!”

“Um,” Aaron started. He wondered if he was still sleeping, because all of this sounded like a dream.

“Get up,” whined Alex, throwing a t-shirt and jeans at Aaron. “You can wear my clothes today, but you need your own stuff! Let’s go!”

 

Their shopping trip took almost the entire day, and Aaron ended up with way more stuff than he could ever imagine using. Apparently both Alex and Lafayette had debit cards and bank accounts, set up for them by the Washington’s, and George and Martha had given each of them a stipend to spend on Aaron. 

(He didn’t ask how much money was in that stipend, but judging from the amount of things the older boys insisted on getting him, it was a lot). 

Aaron hadn’t ever gone on a shopping spree before, but Lafayette and Alex were clearly experts at it, and now he not only had a full wardrobe, but also six pairs of shoes, a new backpack, every type of toiletry he could possibly need for the next year, and some books and movies that Alex had insisted on buying for him.

“Your education is severely lacking in the entertainment area, Aaron,” Alex had said matter-of-factly as he set the entire first season of _Game of Thrones_ in their cart. 

“I wish we could get him a laptop,” said Lafayette wistfully, gazing at the rest of the electronics section.

Alex sighed and shook his head. “We have a lot to spend, but not enough for that. But don’t worry, Aaron, I’m sure they’ll get you one soon. Or a desktop, if you prefer. Until then, you can use mine or Laf’s whenever you want!”

Aaron could only smile. Why would he ever need a laptop when he had all this other amazing stuff?

Later, it took Aaron (with aid from the others, although they often got distracted) almost the whole night to put all of it away. He had previously thought it impossible to fill all the space in the closet, but now it was entirely full, as well as some of the drawers above the desk. Lafayette and Alex egged him on as he dumped everything out of his old backpack and enthusiastically dumped the ratty old thing into the trash. 

School was almost pleasant after that. He had been switched out of Mr. Lee’s class and into the vastly superior Mr. Montgomery’s class, and although Alex and the others weren’t in it, neither was Mr. Lee, so that was a huge plus. And he started sitting with the others at lunch, and riding to and from school with Alex, Lafayette, and Mr. Washington, and he even had brown bag lunches to bring to school with him now, courtesy of Martha. 

One week after he moved in with the Washington’s, George and Martha requested what they called a Family Meeting. 

This consisted of everyone sitting down in the living room, the three boys on the couch and Martha and George in arm chairs facing them. Unlike most houses Aaron had lived in, the living room didn’t have a TV. Television was reserved for the media room, Alex had explained, and the living room was for family time.

“We’ve called this meeting in order to discuss how we want to move forwards as a family,” George started, skipping right to the heart of the matter. (Aaron always appreciated his straightforwardness). “Aaron, you’ve been with us for a week now, and we’ve loved having you here. However, I want to know what you want. Do you want me to find you a new foster home, or would you like to continue staying here?”

“Here,” Aaron said, without even a thought. Of course he wanted to stay here. Everything here was amazing, and although a tiny part of his brain said that it couldn’t possibly last, that there must be some sort of other shoe about to drop, he tried his best to ignore it. 

George and Martha both smiled warmly.

“Oh, that’s wonderful, dear,” said Martha. “We’re so glad to hear it.”

“I’ll let the agency know and get all the paperwork filed,” said George kindly. “And eventually, should you decide you want to be adopted, we’ll have a similar conversation as well.”

Aaron blinked. “You’d be willing to adopt me?”

“Of course, sweetheart,” said Martha. “You’re a wonderful boy, and a great addition to the family.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t reach out to you earlier, Aaron,” George said regretfully. “But we want you to be part of our family now, and while I think you should take your time thinking about this, I want you to know that the option is always open.”

Aaron nodded, but he didn’t trust himself to speak. This was all he had ever wanted to hear. 

“Yeah, and once you’re adopted, you’ll officially be our brother!” Alex put in, bumping his shoulder into Aaron’s. 

“Our little brother,” Lafayette teased, but his tone was kind. 

Aaron ducked his head. “Yeah, that sounds really good. I’ll think about it.”

“Good,” said George. “Now, there’s some ground rules we’d like to cover about our household, although I’m sure the boys have filled you in on most of them by now.”

Aaron stiffened at the mention of rules, but reminded himself that it was nothing horrible, just normal, family stuff.

Family stuff.

He belonged in a _family_. 

“We expect your homework to be completed in a timely fashion, your rooms to be relatively clean, and any issues with teachers or fellow students to be brought to us immediately,” George continued. “School is important and anything related to your studies is a high priority.”

“However, it isn’t the highest priority,” Martha inputted, looking at Aaron seriously. “We believe that mental and physical health takes precedence over anything else. Both of the boys attend weekly counseling sessions and monthly family sessions with both of us included, and we will be enrolling you in counseling sessions too.”

“Is that all right with you, Aaron?” George asked.

Aaron thought about it for a moment. He’d never been in counseling before, had never really thought about it much, but he supposed it couldn’t hurt. He nodded. 

“And if there’s ever anything bothering you, at school, at home, whatever,” Martha said. “You’re welcome to speak to us at any time, or if you would rather speak to your counselor, we can arrange that too. Self-care is important, but so is taking care of one another. That’s what family does.”

“Which leads me to our next rule,” George continued, adopting a firmer tone. “Alex, Gilbert, you’re both 17 years old. Aaron, you’re 14. I know you’re all in the same grade, and that you’ve spent most of your lives depending on yourselves, but just like Martha said, we take care of each other in a family. Alex, Gilbert, I expect you two to be good influences on Aaron. You’re not to be leading him into trouble, at least not intentionally. And if you do find yourselves in trouble, I expect you to look out for him. Understood?”

Aaron felt Alex and Lafayette nod vigorously on either side of him.

“We’ll take good care of little Aaron!” Lafayette cried, patting him on the head. Aaron good-naturedly batted his hand away, and earned a silly smile from the other boy.

George turned back to Aaron. “Now, Aaron, while I expect both of them to make good decisions and be good older brothers to you, that doesn’t let you off the hook. I expect you to make good choices as well, and to try to be the best person you can be, even if that means not following along with the others.”

“I understand,” Aaron nodded. He wanted to live up to the trust George was placing in him.

“I know you’ll do well, son,” George said with a smile. “You’re a very intelligent young man, but I hope you understand that your age does mean expectations will be different for you than for Alex and Gilbert sometimes. For example, they both have a license and are allowed to use the cars with permission. When you’re old enough, we’ll take you to get your permit, but until then you’re not to ever get behind the wheel.”

“Of course,” said Aaron. The thought was ludicrous, but he could admit to himself that he felt a little jealous that both the other boys could drive and he couldn’t. 

“All we ask is that you trust our judgment sometimes, even if a rule seems unfair to you,” Martha explained. “We promise that we don’t make up rules arbitrarily just to make your life harder, or to be mean. If a rule is different for you than it is for Alex and Gilbert, we promise we have a reason for it. You’re welcome to ask why, as well.”

Aaron nodded. He didn’t love the idea of being treated differently due to his age, but he did understand where they were coming from. He often felt he was more mature than even his older classmates, but as long as the Washington’s were being so wonderful to him, he didn’t mind following whatever rules they set. 

“Well, I think that’s about everything,” Martha said, clapping her hands together.

“Just a minute, dear,” George said. “There’s one last thing.”

“Oh yes, how could I forget!” she said excitedly. “Aaron, close your eyes!”

Aaron did so, but he wasn’t sure why. 

“Aaaaand, open them!”

He did. In George’s hand was a box, and he was holding it out towards Aaron. 

“Go ahead, son,” George said, handing it to him.

With trepidation, Aaron opened the box. Inside was a brand-new smartphone. He picked it up and examined it. “Is this…mine?”

“All yours!” Martha exclaimed. “Of course you need a cell phone. Everyone’s got them, and it’s so much safer. Make sure you always carry yours, in case you need us, or your brothers, or to call 911.”

Aaron was frozen in shock. “Are you actually serious?”

“They super are,” Alex grinned, leaning in. “I know, I felt the same way when they gave me mine. But it’s not a joke, it’s really yours.”

“Wow,” Aaron said, staring at the sleek phone in his hand. “Thank you. So much. Just, thank you.”

Martha wiped a tear from her eye and stood up. “Of course, dear. Now, why don’t you all go set that thing up, or whatever it is you do, while I start on dinner.”  
“I’ll help you,” George said, also standing. “And you’re welcome, Aaron. You deserve it.”

Alex stood up too. “Come on, little bro, let’s go set it up! There are sooo many amazing apps, you’re going to die when you see them, you can plug it into my iTunes for now too if you want, I’ve got TONS of music…”

Aaron grinned at his babbling. He hadn’t heard a word of what Alex had said after calling him “little bro,” but he happily followed both older boys as they made their way upstairs.

Aaron couldn’t remember ever feeling like this before, like everything was going to be okay. Everything was good and he was happy and he had a family; all three of those things were radical concepts to him, things he had never expected to be true of his life.  
But for once, they just might be. 

And he couldn’t wait to see what was next.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I love each and every one of you! If you like this story, I'm still pretty caught up in this verse and I'm not adverse (hah) to writing some shorter one-shots about Aaron's new life with the Washington's (or before he met Alex. Or from other people's points of view during the story. Idk). If you have something you'd like to see, let me know and I may do it! Or attempt to do it! You're also welcome to yell with me about Hamilton on my tumblr, violentgril.tumblr.com. 
> 
> To any fans of my Hobbit fanfic: I am SO SO SO SO sorry that you've waited a literal year and I haven't updated. I'll get back to that someday, I promise. It's still on my mind and I haven't forgotten. I just...started caring about other things. Like Hamilton. Sorry.


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